The title Parisian safecracker (Charlie Hunnam) is framed for murder and sent to France’s infamous Devil’s Island. There, he befriends a rich forger (Rami Malek) who agrees to finance his escape attempts in exchange for prison protection. The two leads do fine, but they’re not going to make anyone forget Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Bottom line, Michael Noer’s gorgeously filmed but slow-moving movie lacks what most remakes of classic films lack, which is a reason for existing. In this day and age of streaming video on demand, one might just as well click on the 1973 original. (133 min)
Don Morton
Don Morton has viewed some 6,000 movies, frequently awake. A bachelor and avid cyclist, he currently divides his time between Tokyo and a high-tech 4WD super-camper somewhere in North America.You may also like

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